CHAPTER XVI

　　A fairly broad road led out from Sharkhe through the mountains andon the fifth day of our two weeks' march to the south from themonastery we emerged into the great bowl of the mountains in whosecenter lay the large lake of Koko Nor. If Finland deserves theordinary title of the "Land of Ten Thousand Lakes," the dominion² ofKoko Nor may certainly with justice be called the "Country of aMillion Lakes." We skirted this lake on the west between it andDoulan Kitt, zigzagging³ between the numerous swamps, lakes andsmall rivers, deep and miry. The water was not here covered withice and only on the tops of the mountains did we feel the coldwinds sharply. We rarely met the natives of the country and onlywith greatest difficulty did our Kalmuck learn the course of theroad from the occasional shepherds we passed. From the easternshore of the Lake of Tassoun we worked round to a monastery¹ on thefurther side, where we stopped for a short rest. Besides ourselvesthere was also another group of guests in the holy place. Thesewere Tibetans. Their behavior was very impertinent and theyrefused to speak with us. They were all armed, chiefly with theRussian military rifles and were draped with crossed bandoliers ofcartridges with two or three pistols stowed beneath belts with morecartridges sticking out. They examined us very sharply and wereadily realized that they were estimating our martial⁷ strength.

After they had left on that same day I ordered our Kalmuck toinquire from the High Priest of the temple exactly who they were.

For a long time the monk⁸ gave evasive answers but when I showed himthe ring of Hutuktu Narabanchi and presented him with a largeyellow hatyk, he became more communicative.

"Those are bad people," he explained. "Have a care of them."However, he was not willing to give their names, explaining hisrefusal by citing the Law of Buddhist⁹ lands against pronouncing thename of one's father, teacher or chief. Afterwards I found outthat in North Tibet there exists the same custom as in North China.

Here and there bands of hunghutze wander about. They appear at theheadquarters of the leading trading firms and at the monasteries,claim tribute and after their collections become the protectors ofthe district. Probably this Tibetan monastery had in this bandjust such protectors.

When we continued our trip, we frequently noticed single horsemenfar away or on the horizon, apparently¹¹ studying our movements withcare. All our attempts to approach them and enter intoconversation with them were entirely¹² unsuccessful. On their speedylittle horses they disappeared like shadows. As we reached thesteep and difficult Pass on the Hamshan and were preparing to spendthe night there, suddenly far up on a ridge⁶ above us appeared aboutforty horsemen with entirely white mounts and without formalintroduction or warning spattered us with a hail of bullets. Twoof our officers fell with a cry. One had been instantly killedwhile the other lived some few minutes. I did not allow my men toshoot but instead I raised a white flag and started forward withthe Kalmuck for a parley¹³. At first they fired two shots at us butthen ceased firing and sent down a group of riders from the ridgetoward us. We began the parley. The Tibetans explained thatHamshan is a holy mountain and that here one must not spend thenight, advising us to proceed farther where we could considerourselves in safety. They inquired from us whence we came andwhither we were going, stated in answer to our information aboutthe purpose of our journey that they knew the Bolsheviki andconsidered them the liberators of the people of Asia from the yokeof the white race. I certainly did not want to begin a politicalquarrel with them and so turned back to our companions. Ridingdown the slope toward our camp, I waited momentarily for a shot inthe back but the Tibetan hunghutze did not shoot.

We moved forward, leaving among the stones the bodies of two of ourcompanions as sad tribute to the difficulties and dangers of ourjourney. We rode all night, with our exhausted¹⁴ horses constantlystopping and some lying down under us, but we forced them everonward. At last, when the sun was at its zenith, we finallyhalted. Without unsaddling our horses, we gave them an opportunityto lie down for a little rest. Before us lay a broad, swampyplain, where was evidently the sources of the river Ma-chu. Notfar beyond lay the Lake of Aroung Nor. We made our fire of cattledung and began boiling water for our tea. Again without anywarning the bullets came raining in from all sides. Immediately wetook cover behind convenient rocks and waited developments. Thefiring became faster and closer, the raiders appeared on the wholecircle round us and the bullets came ever in increasing numbers.

We had fallen into a trap and had no hope but to perish. Werealized this clearly. I tried anew to begin the parley; but whenI stood up with my white flag, the answer was only a thicker rainof bullets and unfortunately one of these, ricocheting off a rock,struck me in the left leg and lodged¹⁵ there. At the same momentanother one of our company was killed. We had no other choice andwere forced to begin fighting. The struggle continued for abouttwo hours. Besides myself three others received slight wounds. Weresisted as long as we could. The hunghutze approached and oursituation became desperate.

"There's no choice," said one of my associates, a very expertColonel. "We must mount and ride for it . . . anywhere.""Anywhere. . . ." It was a terrible word! We consulted for but aninstant. It was apparent that with this band of cut-throats behindus the farther we went into Tibet, the less chance we had of savingour lives.

We decided¹⁶ to return to Mongolia. But how? That we did not know.

And thus we began our retreat. Firing all the time, we trotted¹⁷ ourhorses as fast as we could toward the north. One after anotherthree of my companions fell. There lay my Tartar with a bulletthrough his neck. After him two young and fine stalwart officerswere carried from their saddles with cries of death, while theirscared horses broke out across the plain in wild fear, perfectpictures of our distraught selves. This emboldened¹⁸ the Tibetans,who became more and more audacious. A bullet struck the buckle¹⁹ onthe ankle strap²⁰ of my right foot and carried it, with a piece ofleather and cloth, into my leg just above the ankle. My old andmuch tried friend, the agronome, cried out as he grasped hisshoulder and then I saw him wiping and bandaging as best as hecould his bleeding forehead. A second afterward¹⁰ our Kalmuck washit twice right through the palm of the same hand, so that it wasentirely shattered. Just at this moment fifteen of the hunghutzerushed against us in a charge.

"Shoot at them with volley fire!" commanded our Colonel.

Six robber bodies lay on the turf, while two others of the gangwere unhorsed and ran scampering²¹ as fast as they could after theirretreating fellows. Several minutes later the fire of ourantagonists ceased and they raised a white flag. Two riders cameforward toward us. In the parley it developed that their chief hadbeen wounded through the chest and they came to ask us to "renderfirst aid." At once I saw a ray of hope. I took my box ofmedicines and my groaning²², cursing, wounded Kalmuck to interpretfor me.

"Give that devil some cyanide of potassium," urged my companions.

But I devised another scheme.

We were led to the wounded chief. There he lay on the saddlecloths among the rocks, represented to us to be a Tibetan but I atonce recognized him from his cast of countenance²³ to be a Sart orTurcoman, probably from the southern part of Turkestan. He lookedat me with a begging and frightened gaze. Examining him, I foundthe bullet had passed through his chest from left to right, that hehad lost much blood and was very weak. Conscientiously²⁴ I did allthat I could for him. In the first place I tried on my own tongueall the medicines to be used on him, even the iodoform, in order todemonstrate that there was no poison among them. I cauterized²⁶ thewound with iodine²⁷, sprinkled it with iodoform and applied²⁸ thebandages. I ordered that the wounded man be not touched nor movedand that he be left right where he lay. Then I taught a Tibetanhow the dressing²⁹ must be changed and left with him medicatedcotton, bandages and a little iodoform. To the patient, in whomthe fever was already developing, I gave a big dose of aspirin³⁰ andleft several tablets of quinine with them. Afterwards, addressingmyself to the bystanders through my Kalmuck, I said very solemnly:

"The wound is very dangerous but I gave to your Chief very strongmedicine and hope that he will recover. One condition, however, isnecessary: the bad demons²⁵ which have rushed to his side for hisunwarranted attack upon us innocent travelers will instantly killhim, if another shot is let off against us. You must not even keepa single cartridge⁵ in your rifles."With these words I ordered the Kalmuck to empty his rifle and I, atthe same time, took all the cartridges⁴ out of my Mauser. TheTibetans instantly and very servilely followed my example.

"Remember that I told you: 'Eleven days and eleven nights do notmove from this place and do not charge your rifles.' Otherwise thedemon of death will snatch off your Chief and will pursue you!"--and with these words I solemnly drew forth³¹ and raised above theirheads the ring of Hutuktu Narabanchi.

I returned to my companions and calmed them. I told them we weresafe against further attack from the robbers and that we must onlyguess the way to reach Mongolia. Our horses were so exhausted andthin that on their bones we could have hung our overcoats. Wespent two days here, during which time I frequently visited mypatient. It also gave us opportunity to bandage our ownfortunately light wounds and to secure a little rest; thoughunfortunately I had nothing but a jackknife with which to dig thebullet out of my left calf³² and the shoemaker's accessories from myright ankle. Inquiring from the brigands³³ about the caravan³⁴ roads,we soon made our way out to one of the main routes and had the goodfortune to meet there the caravan of the young Mongol PrincePounzig, who was on a holy mission carrying a message from theLiving Buddha³⁵ in Urga to the Dalai Lama in Lhasa. He helped us topurchase horses, camels and food.

With all our arms and supplies spent in barter³⁶ during the journeyfor the purchase of transport and food, we returned stripped andbroken to the Narabanchi Monastery, where we were welcomed by theHutuktu.

"I knew you would come back," said he. "The divinations revealedit all to me."With six of our little band left behind us in Tibet to pay theeternal toll³⁷ of our dash for the south we returned but twelve tothe Monastery and waited there two weeks to re-adjust ourselves andlearn how events would again set us afloat on this turbulent sea tosteer for any port that Destiny might indicate. The officersenlisted in the detachment which was then being formed in Mongoliato fight against the destroyers of their native land, theBolsheviki. My original companion and I prepared to continue ourjourney over Mongolian plains with whatever further adventures anddangers might come in the struggle to escape to a place of safety.

And now, with the scenes of that trying march so vividly³⁸ recalled,I would dedicate these chapters to my gigantic, old and ruggedlytried friend, the agronome, to my Russian fellow-travelers, andespecially, to the sacred memory of those of our companions whosebodies lie cradled in the sleep among the mountains of Tibet--Colonel Ostrovsky, Captains Zuboff and Turoff, LieutenantPisarjevsky, Cossack Vernigora and Tartar Mahomed Spirin. Alsohere I express my deep thanks for help and friendship to the Princeof Soldjak, Hereditary³⁹ Noyon Ta Lama and to the Kampo Gelong ofNarabanchi Monastery, the honorable Jelyb Djamsrap Hutuktu.

1 monastery   

n.修道院，僧院，寺院

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• She was appointed the superior of the monastery two years ago.两年前她被任命为这个修道院的院长。

2 dominion   

n.统治，管辖，支配权；领土，版图

参考例句：

• Alexander held dominion over a vast area.亚历山大曾统治过辽阔的地域。
• In the affluent society,the authorities are hardly forced to justify their dominion.在富裕社会里，当局几乎无需证明其统治之合理。

3 zigzagging   

v.弯弯曲曲地走路，曲折地前进( zigzag的现在分词 )；盘陀

参考例句：

• She walked along, zigzagging with her head back. 她回头看着，弯弯扭扭地向前走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We followed the path zigzagging up the steep slope. 我们沿着小径曲曲折折地爬上陡坡。 来自互联网

4 cartridges   

子弹( cartridge的名词复数 )； （打印机的）墨盒； 录音带盒； （唱机的）唱头

参考例句：

• computer consumables such as disks and printer cartridges 如磁盘、打印机墨盒之类的电脑耗材
• My new video game player came with three game cartridges included. 我的新电子游戏机附有三盘游戏带。

5 cartridge   

n.弹壳，弹药筒；(装磁带等的)盒子

参考例句：

• Unfortunately the 2G cartridge design is very difficult to set accurately.不幸地2G弹药筒设计非常难正确地设定。
• This rifle only holds one cartridge.这支来复枪只能装一发子弹。

6 ridge   

n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭

参考例句：

• We clambered up the hillside to the ridge above.我们沿着山坡费力地爬上了山脊。
• The infantry were advancing to attack the ridge.步兵部队正在向前挺进攻打山脊。

7 martial   

adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的

参考例句：

• The sound of martial music is always inspiring.军乐声总是鼓舞人心的。
• The officer was convicted of desertion at a court martial.这名军官在军事法庭上被判犯了擅离职守罪。

8 monk   

n.和尚，僧侣，修道士

参考例句：

• The man was a monk from Emei Mountain.那人是峨眉山下来的和尚。
• Buddhist monk sat with folded palms.和尚合掌打坐。

9 Buddhist   

adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒

参考例句：

• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
• In the eye of the Buddhist,every worldly affair is vain.在佛教徒的眼里，人世上一切事情都是空的。

10 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

11 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

12 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

13 parley   

n.谈判

参考例句：

• The governor was forced to parley with the rebels.州长被迫与反叛者谈判。
• The general held a parley with the enemy about exchanging prisoners.将军与敌人谈判交换战俘事宜。

14 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

15 lodged   

v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属

参考例句：

• The certificate will have to be lodged at the registry. 证书必须存放在登记处。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Our neighbours lodged a complaint against us with the police. 我们的邻居向警方控告我们。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

17 trotted   

小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走

参考例句：

• She trotted her pony around the field. 她骑着小马绕场慢跑。
• Anne trotted obediently beside her mother. 安妮听话地跟在妈妈身边走。

18 emboldened   

v.鼓励，使有胆量( embolden的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Emboldened by the wine, he went over to introduce himself to her. 他借酒壮胆，走上前去向她作自我介绍。
• His success emboldened him to expand his business. 他有了成就因而激发他进一步扩展业务。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 buckle   

n.扣子，带扣；v.把...扣住，由于压力而弯曲

参考例句：

• The two ends buckle at the back.带子两端在背后扣起来。
• She found it hard to buckle down.她很难专心做一件事情。

20 strap   

n.皮带，带子；v.用带扣住，束牢；用绷带包扎

参考例句：

• She held onto a strap to steady herself.她抓住拉手吊带以便站稳。
• The nurse will strap up your wound.护士会绑扎你的伤口。

21 scampering   

v.蹦蹦跳跳地跑，惊惶奔跑( scamper的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• A cat miaowed, then was heard scampering away. 马上起了猫叫，接着又听见猫逃走的声音。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• A grey squirrel is scampering from limb to limb. 一只灰色的松鼠在树枝间跳来跳去。 来自辞典例句

22 groaning   

adj. 呜咽的, 呻吟的 动词groan的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• She's always groaning on about how much she has to do. 她总抱怨自己干很多活儿。
• The wounded man lay there groaning, with no one to help him. 受伤者躺在那里呻吟着，无人救助。

23 countenance   

n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同

参考例句：

• At the sight of this photograph he changed his countenance.他一看见这张照片脸色就变了。
• I made a fierce countenance as if I would eat him alive.我脸色恶狠狠地，仿佛要把他活生生地吞下去。

24 conscientiously   

adv.凭良心地；认真地，负责尽职地；老老实实

参考例句：

• He kept silent,eating just as conscientiously but as though everything tasted alike. 他一声不吭，闷头吃着，仿佛桌上的饭菜都一个味儿。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She discharged all the responsibilities of a minister conscientiously. 她自觉地履行部长的一切职责。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 demons   

n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念

参考例句：

• demons torturing the sinners in Hell 地狱里折磨罪人的魔鬼
• He is plagued by demons which go back to his traumatic childhood. 他为心魔所困扰，那可追溯至他饱受创伤的童年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 cauterized   

v.（用腐蚀性物质或烙铁）烧灼以消毒( cauterize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Something was killed in your breast: burnt out, cauterized out. 你的心胸里有什么东西已经给掐死了，烧死了，腐蚀掉了。 来自英汉文学
• He cauterized the wound with a piece of red-hot iron. 他用一块烧红的烙铁烧灼伤口。 来自辞典例句

27 iodine   

n.碘，碘酒

参考例句：

• The doctor painted iodine on the cut.医生在伤口上涂点碘酒。
• Iodine tends to localize in the thyroid.碘容易集于甲状腺。

28 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

29 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

30 aspirin   

n.阿司匹林

参考例句：

• The aspirin seems to quiet the headache.阿司匹林似乎使头痛减轻了。
• She went into a chemist's and bought some aspirin.她进了一家药店，买了些阿司匹林。

31 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

32 calf   

n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮

参考例句：

• The cow slinked its calf.那头母牛早产了一头小牛犊。
• The calf blared for its mother.牛犊哞哞地高声叫喊找妈妈。

33 brigands   

n.土匪，强盗( brigand的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They say there are brigands hiding along the way. 他们说沿路隐藏着土匪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The brigands demanded tribute from passing vehicles. 土匪向过往车辆勒索钱财。 来自辞典例句

34 caravan   

n.大蓬车；活动房屋

参考例句：

• The community adviser gave us a caravan to live in.社区顾问给了我们一间活动住房栖身。
• Geoff connected the caravan to the car.杰弗把旅行用的住屋拖车挂在汽车上。

35 Buddha   

n.佛；佛像；佛陀

参考例句：

• Several women knelt down before the statue of Buddha and prayed.几个妇女跪在佛像前祈祷。
• He has kept the figure of Buddha for luck.为了图吉利他一直保存着这尊佛像。

36 barter   

n.物物交换，以货易货，实物交易

参考例句：

• Chickens,goats and rabbits were offered for barter at the bazaar.在集市上，鸡、山羊和兔子被摆出来作物物交换之用。
• They have arranged food imports on a barter basis.他们以易货贸易的方式安排食品进口。

37 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

38 vividly   

adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地

参考例句：

• The speaker pictured the suffering of the poor vividly.演讲者很生动地描述了穷人的生活。
• The characters in the book are vividly presented.这本书里的人物写得栩栩如生。

39 hereditary   

adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的

参考例句：

• The Queen of England is a hereditary ruler.英国女王是世袭的统治者。
• In men,hair loss is hereditary.男性脱发属于遗传。